U.N. Report Says Arabs Using Refugees to Stir Anti-israel Hostility

October 23, 1958

UNITED NATIONS, N. Y. (Oct. 22)

The Arab governments surrounding Israel are still using the fate of the hundreds of thousands of refugees as a political football for stirring hostilities against Israel, and are hampering efforts being made by the United Nations to aid the refugees, according to the official, annual refugee report, filed here today at the General Assembly.

At the same time, however, the report points out–for the first time in years–that the refugees themselves are leaning more and more toward programs for self-help and rehabilitation, calling this trend in the attitude of the refugees “the biggest hope for their future.”

The report reminds the Assembly that UNRWA’s mandate expires on June 30, 1960, and suggests that plans be made this year for steps that must be taken by the 1959 Assembly for continuing an Arab refugee program beyond the Summer of 1960.